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Netflix conflict with Silverlight

Question

Netflix stopped supporting Windows Media Player and switched to Silverlight. Now when attempting to view a dvd online both through Internet Explorer or Firefox they both crash and shutdown. What's the solution? Microsoft wants $59.00 just to answer the phone.

I am a vista user and have worked with a Netflix customer support person on this issue for over two hours. Their answer was... well, it is just a Beta product! I have installed, uninstalled. Installed from the netflix site, and uninstalled and re-installed
under the silverlight site. I can get the silverlight MS tool bar in IE to operate but cannot wach a netflix movie. It is just a black screen with the blue circle as if it is loading. The bottom of the screen reads... Done. I must open a new ie window to continue
browsing the web or I must hit Ctl Alt Delte and close the netflix window. Silverlight is enabled in my browser. I am at a loss. From reading the internet blogs, it appears MAC users are seeming to have little difficulty with Silverlight compared to PC users.
Ironic! What else can I try??

I am new to the Silverlight Community and I saw your post and wanted to let you know that I have had the same problem as others when trying to watch movies on the Netflix site. The technical support team for the Netflix site tried to fix the problem by
having me right click on the screen where normally the movie would play and then select Silverlight Configuration. From there I was to click on the Application Storage tab and select the Enable box to change the amount designated for that purpose but before
I could do that a box appeared and stated that the Silverlight Configuration Utility had stopped working. After that Windows collected data on the problem to look for a solution and/or notify me if one is available before closing out the box itself. Netflix
feels that this problem was caused maybe during the download process by a corruption of a file which causes conflicts in licensing or verification issues, but if that was the case would that not also be shown when using the test on the Microsoft Silverlight
website to see if the program was installed correctly? Also, if that was the case, why was I able to watch movies using Silverlight for awhile on their site for about approximately one to two weeks? If it was a problem right from the get go would not it had
conflicted earlier or maybe from the start? In my opinion it seems like an error or something between the Netflix site and Silverlight when retrieving verification or maybe they have to work out licensing glitches on their end.
I am not a computer tech so do not take this with authority it is just my opinion.
If I state something that doesn't make sense or is incorrect please let me know.

I joined Netflix yesterday as a Christmas present to myself, primarily because I could (theoretically) watch movies on my computer. Needless to say, Silverlight didn't work. I installed, uninstalled, reinstalled, uninstalled, reinstalled from the website,
uninstalled, and reinstalled, each time downloading a new file from which to work. It would indicate it was loading the movie, buffering the movie, but when it got to the end, I continually got error code 1001, and of course there's no explanation of what
that means. A call to Netflix revealed that "an error code in that range means it's a Microsoft problem." In playing with it, I turned off the "enable playback of protected content (DRM)" setting under the playback tab in Silverlight configuration. It seemed
to go farther, but then I got a different error screen, since I had disenabled DRM..
In the "application storage" tab, it shows the storage, but gives me no options to change the size of the quota, other than to enable/disable it, or to delete it entirely. Oh, and I went
to the URL given me by the Netflix people to test silverlight (http://web.sldrm.video.msn.com/d1/sldrm.html), and it worked fine when I turned OFF DRM, and not at all when I left it running. Oh, I tried it both in IE and Firefox, most recent editions. And
I'm running an XP machine, SP3.

What a useless program. And imagine my disappointment when the entire reason I'd joined was simply to watch movies on my computer. Then I discovered that Netflix USED to use Media Player, which is on EVERY Windows machine, and works entirely well on mine,
but some genius decided to change it for everyone to a BETA program that doesn't work (evidently) a good share of the time. Sounds like committee "thinking." Okay, rant over.

So, if Silverlight works for Mac, and not so much for PC, why not have both available, allowing the user to CHOOSE what works best? I'd definitely accept "not as good quality" over "not at all."

Okay, I went through two more calls to Netflix (they were very nice, but could only say that it was a Microsoft problem), and numerous
unanswered e-mails to Microsoft. (Hey, Microsoft, "customer service" is not just an interesting idea...really...) In the end, I ended up disabling all of my firewalls, virus scans, etc to ensure that nothing was interfering. I then
poked around until I found that I needed to have added Netflix to the "trusted sites" tab in "Internet Options" in IE. At first, it didn't work, because it required "https," but when I disabled that, and entered it in without the "s" (since Netflix doesn't
use https protocol), it WORKED. I switched on all of my firewall/virus software, and it still works! WOOHOO! Since I changed it through IE it actually changed it in the system (Control Panel, Internet Options), and as a result, Firefox works as well. Which
is great, since Firefox doesn't download all kinds of tracking cookies into my machine like IE does.

So, I obviously could have done it without endangering my computer to malware, but since I had NO appreciable assistance, I was on my own. And in the end, it as very easy to do, I think it would have been pretty dang easy for someone to have directed me
to that option before I just stumbled onto it by accident. Think?

But at least I'll have an OS that's not been abandoned by it's creators in favor of one that is complete rubbish. And ACTUAL customer service. But I digress, that's something for a different forum thread, eh?

Thanks for the tips. I tried both new ideas. I added netflix to my trusted sites and I tested it again to no avail. Also while it was loading I tried to right click to change the silverlight settings and it didn't do anything. I also went to the same site
that netflix gives out as a test and it too does not respond. I have to Ctrl Alt Delete and close the window. I am at a loss.

When you added it to your trusted sites, did you uncheck the box, and enter it in as "http://" instead of "https://"? You might want to mess with your firewall and such, just in case its getting blocked. On the test site, will it run non-DRM content after
you select the button to load the media? And have you checked your speed, to ensure your machine is fast enough? I have a good site for that, but not with me currently, I'll upload it when I'm home. I was also told by the Netflix folks that perhaps ensuring
you have all the updates via Microsoft Update, as that site also updates Silverlight.

yes, I did add it to my trusted sites by unchecking the box allowing me to add netflix.com as an http//: protocol. I can open netflix.com and it opens in a new window as a trusted site. What I can not do is... run ANYTHING with SIlverlight. Netflix movies
over the internet are just a black screen with the words done in the bottom left hand corner. The sight reads as not responding when you Cntl/Alt Delete. It does the same on the SIlverlight test sight. it is NOT even possible for me to change any silverlight
settings when the web site in not responding. I can only open another (new) window at the start button or Ctrl/Alt delete to close the current non responsive screen. I don't get a player or anything else. Just a black screen that seems freeze up. As for my
spped. My computer is a dual core prossesor. HP laptop that is less than a year old. I can run ABC.com and stream my favorite TV over my internet connection so i do not see how this could be much different?

Also, my MS vista firewall is turned off, I believe this is a local problem since it appears to be locking up my browser. Two days ago, I unistalled my symantic anti virus protection and that did not change anything either so I reinstalled it today.

Still, at a loss. IF there is an MS person out there, I would appreciate your advice. Again, I have had Netflix tech support as well as HP look at this and both parties said it was nothing they could figure out. Both parties summed it up to the fact that
this is a BETA product. Why the heck did MS introduce a BETA product nationwide with this many issues when they ALREADY had Meda Player contracted with Netflix.

Hm, unfortunately, I'm not familiar enough with Vista to know if that's the problem, as I've been steadfast in my death-like grip on XP.

However, the black screen, does it have little blue dots that circle around? I have a pretty speedy machine myself, and I still have to wait quite a while for the whole thing to load, from the black screen to the red loading screen, to the red buffering
screen (the longest), it can take as long as 10-15 minutes to finish loading. I don't want to sound demeaning, but have you waited long enough for it to load? I can't get the Silverligh Configuration to come up until it makes it to the red screen, it doesn't
work on the black screen. Perhaps if you get it started and then go off and make a pizza, or have a beer and sit on the porch, play with the dog, and come back in 10-15, maybe it will have started. I know, that's really dorky, but that's all I have left.
I do know that it takes MUCH longer to load a Netflix movie than ANYthing else, and I do the same things you do.

As for your question about why they made the insane mistake of ONLY allowing use of one beta product, disallowing use of another that has already worked fine, I would say it is a) committee- think, and/or the Corporate Motto of Microsoft: If it ain't broke,
hell, let's fix it with something that's crap! (Vista, I'm looking at you...)

MAYBE SOMEONE FROM MICROSOFT COULD BE BOTHERED TO HELP US OUT WITH THIS PROBLEM???

I have had the same problem as others when trying to watch movies on the Netflix site. I am running IE7 on XP Home Edition SP3.

The technical support team for the Netflix site tried to fix the problem by having me uninstall and reinstall. All the speed tests and the Silverlight test pages run fine just no instant Netflix movies. I was instructed to right clicking on the Red Netflix
screen to run the Silverlight Configuration to update storage, but the config fails after selecting the Application storage tab with the msg (
Microsoft® Silverlight Configuration Utility has encountered a problem and needs to close.)

At this point I was referred to Microsoft Tech support website where I found nothing. I was able to watch movies using Silverlight for awhile in early Dec. and loved this added benefit. I verified the Silverlight plug in was enabled for IE and also tried
adding NETFLIX (with http) to trusted sites but neither resolved the issue. I am also considering CANCELING my Netflix membership until this issue is resolved.

Thank you so much this worked great for me! I had called Netflix, who directed me to Microsoft, well Netflix may have 24 hour support but Microsoft didn't....ridiculous, anyway thanks so much for sharing, now I'm off to watch my movie!!! Hooray!

Hi let me cut this short, I was having the same exact problems as all you are I have both Vista and Xp and I'm a certified Tech and I still couldn't manage to make "silverlight" but what finally worked after countless reinstalls, was that I got so pi**ed
of at trying to make it work with IE and I discovered this by accident is that I opened Firefox and it worked fine, I'm just surprised that "silverlight" didn't work with IE, I mean personally I find this laughable but anyways, I hope this helps you guys 'cos
I was really considering canceling my netflix membership. Just download Firefox 3 and it should work fine. P.S. none of the other solutions worked for me and you guys dont disable those antiviruses and firewalls. Just login into your netflix account USING
FIREFOX and make sure that you have Silverlight installed, pick your movie and it should work fine. I'm currently using Windows Vista Ultimate.

I tried right clicking and changing the configuration as well, to no avail. When I went to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Silverlight\2.0.31005.0\ and double clicked Silverlight.Configuration.exe, the program terminated with an unhandled exception (PID 0x768,
TID 0x670). Going through the web browser, it just quietly died. Not sure what that means, but more brains are good.

I'm running XP SP3 on an older VIA mini-ITX with a 1GHZ Nehemiah processor and 512M RAM. Just throwing that out there in case there may be an issue with unsupported hardware. Other than that, my installation is probably pretty typical.

I've tried both IE and Firefox. Same result on both. The browser seems to play the test movie fine on the test site that someone posted here earlier, but at Netflix it quietly kills the web browser when I try to play a movie. I've also noticed that problem
I mentioned when trying to set the configuration from the .exe.

I've tried both installing Firefox, reinstalling SL and the results are the same. Both browsers seems to play the test movie fine on the test site but nothing from the Netflix site. I also have another old desktop running XP IE6 and a Vista laptop with
IE7 a that can view movies on the same network ISP connection.

I have been reading the various post and I've had many of the same problems. I did however get the Silverlight program to let me access the Application Storage Tab which surprised the Netflix Technical Support but I still cannot watch any videos on Netflix.
I have both IE7 and Firefox but Firefox is my default browser and I checked to make sure the Firefox browser was enabling cookies from the Netflix site and to my disappointment it is still not working. So I called Netflix and they stated that it was a problem
cause by my Internet Service Provider so I called them up and they said that they do not block access to sites and they told me to check my firewall and virus software to check if the problem would be there. Sadly that was not the case. I eventually kept reloading
the movie viewer page and then a warning page displayed and stated that the Firefox browser stopped trying to access the page because the declaration would never be completed (something to that affect) and that the problem was not my computer but the server
configuration-------what is a server configuration?..............I am not totally computer savvy so I could definitely use a reply to my post.

For my problem, the browser quietly dies when I try to play a movie, and there is no error message. The only error message I get is when I try to run the configuration executable from the Silverlight folder on my local hard drive. If I try to run the configuration
utility from the webpage, I get a hourglass, and the configuration utility quietly dies in the background, but leaves the browser running.

Later you can try to manuall 3extract the silverlight files and then install it on your computer.

(a)Downloading the silver light 2.0 beta and save it on to the desktop.(b)Now manually extract the file to some temporary location using the command c:\documets and settings\user\desktop\silverlight2.0 –x, in command prompt. This would ask for a temporary location
give something like c:\sil2.0

Now close the command prompt and go to the location c:\sil2.0 by opening My Computer, in this folder you will have the file “Install”, run the installation and we should be able to install
this software.

The following below is the warning page that appears after selecting a movie to watch on Netflix website. I cannot find an exact error code but the error console in Firefox always says either an unknown zoom or error in parsing value for property 'cursor'
declaration dropped:

Redirect Loop

Firefox has detected that the server is redirecting the request for this address in a way that will never complete

The browser has stopped trying to retrieve the requested item. The site is redirecting the request in a way that will never complete.

* Have you disabled or blocked cookies required by this site?
* NOTE: If accepting the site's cookies does not resolve the problem, it is likely a server configuration issue and not your computer.

I hope someone can figure this out because I made sure cookies was enabled and all that but I am a bit confused as to what a server configuration is so I haven't done anything with that. I hope this helps.......

NF: Hello, blah blah blah blah blah blah. How can I help you today?
ME: I can't watch instant play.
NF: I am very very sorry about that. So you are having problem watching instant play on NetFlix?
ME: Yes
NF: I am very very sorry about that. I am sure I can help you resolve the problem.
ME: Great.
NF: Did you turn on your computer?
ME: Yes.
NF: Do you have account with NetFlix?
ME: Yes.
NF: Do you have a screen or monitor connected to your computer?
ME: Yes.
NF: OK, I am sure I can help you blah blah blah.
ME: Great.
NF: OK, let's try pressing play.
ME: OK.
NF: Did that resolve the problem?
ME: No.
NF: OK, let's try playing another movie.
ME: OK.
NF: Did that resolve the problem?
ME: No.
NF: OK, let's try blah.
ME: OK.
NF: Did that resolve the problem?
ME: No.
NF: OK, let's try blah blah.
ME: OK.
NF: Did that resolve the problem?
ME: No.
NF: OK, let's try blah blah blah.
ME: OK.
NF: Did that resolve the problem?
ME: No.
NF: OK, let's try blah blah blah blah.
ME: OK.
NF: Did that resolve the problem?
ME: No.
NF: OK, let's try blah.
ME: We already tried that.
NF: Did that resolve the problem?
ME: No.
NF: OK, let's try blah blah.
ME: We already tried that.
NF: Did that resolve the problem?
ME: No.
NF: OK, this is a Microsoft issue. Here is the phone number for Microsoft Silverlight technical support.

MS: May I have your name, address, phone number, social security number, bank account number, and service code.
ME: Blah.
MS: How can I help you today?
ME: I can't watch instant play on NetFlix.
MS: Please give me every single detail about you system.
ME: Blah.
MS: Are you sure that you're not just an idiot?
ME: Yes.
MS: OK (Sigh), did you try blah?
ME: Didn't work.
MS: Did you try blah blah?
ME: Didn't work.
MS: Did you try blah blah blah?
ME: No good.
MS: Did you try blah blah blah blah?
ME: Didn't work.
MS: OK, this is a Netflix issue. Here is the phone number to call.

In the meantime, will I ever be able to watch a NetFlix movie on my PC?

If you are unable to access the silverlight configuration tool you can manually delete the unique device id stored by Netflix on your computer, that way when you play it has a chance to generate a new one. I'm not exactly sure what the path is on XP, but
in Vista you go to:

C:\Users\YourNameHere\AppData\LocalLow\Microsoft\

and then delete the folder "Silverlight".

Make sure to add *.netflix.com to trusted sites as other users have mentioned.

Pj: Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!. After 6 frustating and wasted hrs. talking with Netflix & Microsoft "tech support" s well as my ISP (all of whom couldn't resolve the problem) I was able to access the Netflix instant watch network by following your
excellent advice. I did exactly as you instructed (manually adding Netflix to Internet Explore's trusted sites using the prefix "http" rather than "https") and it worked (as you said so well, "OMG! I got it to work!"). Yes, thanks to Silverlight the video
quality is still quite choppy in full-screen mode (though fairly decent in reduced mode), but the point is, I can now watch movies on my PC again! I would still prefer to go back to the old Windows Media-based player (with it the full-screen quality was excellent)
but leave it to Netflix & Microsoft to put their heads together & leave you with no way out... there's no turning back once you choose Silverlight. Thanks once again; now I'll have to reconsider my plan to cancel my Netflix subscription; & Netflix owes you
a tip of the hat as well (for providing such a helpful tip). WW

Exactly, Pj... why in tarnation doesn't someone at Microsoft actually read these posts (especially ones as helpful as yours)? If they did, they could save their own so-called tech support people and their customers a lot of aggravation and wasted time. The
6 hrs. I spent being shuttled from one company to another could have been reduced to maybe 5 or 10 minutes if these Microsoft & Netflix "experts" did any homework at all. Instead, they go through the usual motions, no doubt reading off a pre-printed troubleshooting
list, advising callers to disable anti-virus programs and firewalls....and if all else fails, referring them back to the other corporation;or simply telling customers that their "ping" rates are way too high. Once again, kudos to you for doing what a committee
of half-baked tech support geniuses never even thought of doing in the first place: coming up with a relatively simple solution to what seemed like a baffling problem; & thrice again, thank you, thank you, thank you. WW

Thanks for the info, though that sounds a lot like what Piperjon (Pj) said on this forum back in December of '08: "...I found that I needed to have added Netflix to the "trusted sites" tab in "Internet Options" in IE. At first, it didn't work, because
it required "https," but when I disabled that, and entered it in without the "s" (since Netflix doesn't use https protocol), it WORKED..."
I'm not sure what error message you're referring to, but the problem I and others were having then was accessing the Netflix network. Pj's tip about "trusted sites" finally did the trick, though I had to go through hrs. of getting nowhere with Netflix
& Microsoft tech support before I found the answer myself... right on this forum (& thank God for this forum).

Thanks for the detailed info. I will definitely keep that in mind in case I ever do get that particular error. However, I've never gotten a startup error; my problem was that I couldn't even access the Netflix network (which I think you need to do in order
to get an error message like that).When I couldn't get on the network after repeatedly trying to log on, I would be repeatedly prompted to download Silverlight 2, which I had just spent hours with tech support installing. As it turned out, Silverlight did
install successfully but I couldn't log on due to something tech support never even thought of. The problem was resolved after including Netflix on "trusted sites" in security settings by manually adding "s" to the "http" that was already there. But the larger
problem for many of us (aside from Netflix's and Microsoft's cluelessness regarding this issue) is the video quality itself, especially in full-screen mode. The previous Windows Media-based player worked just fine, and this one clearly doesn't work well for a
significant minority of Netflix subscribers. Would it do any good for those of us who are dissatisfied with Silverlight to circulate a petition of some kind? Personally, I doubt it.

Miss Kitty: Back in March of 2008 Chad responded to someone who'd also experienced problems installing Silverlight 2. It worked for at least one Silverlight forum member, and maybe it'll work for you, too. Following are the instructions Chad provided (and
good luck... WW):

"I have had the same problems. However, I overcame the problems by doing the following:

Run the Silverlight Tools installer

When you get the error, leave the installer window OPEN

Open WIndows Explorer

You will notice a directory with something that looks like a GUID. The specific name changes each time

Inside of this directory you will see the individual programs. Install them in the following order

misskitty: You may also find the following Microsoft link helpful. Through that link, Microsoft provides a number of detailed methods, one of which might possibly help you to resolve your issues and get you back in business (with Silverlight & the Netflix
Instant Watch network). Once again, good luck. WW

I couldn't watch Netflix movies, suddenly, while watching a movie it stopped and when I tried to

resume viewing, but got the errorcode 8007 message, and I couldn't access the configuration tool.

I have XP Pro 64 bit, for some reason there is no Silverlight folder visible in the application data folder, but I searched for silverlight in explorer, found the folder, deleted it, reinstalled Silverlight and now I can view Netflix movies again!

Thanks 1 billion times. This worked. after installing many times, nothing changed. That is because uninstallation was not cleaning the personal data (I guess)

Repeat from zentho:

Delete "Silverlight" folder from

C:\Users\YourNameHere\AppData\LocalLow\Microsoft\

Then try Netflix. Follow the procedure the tab for data storage will open without error. That is it.

Thanks another 1 billion, zentho

If you are unable to access the silverlight configuration tool you can manually delete the unique device id stored by Netflix on your computer, that way when you play it has a chance to generate a new one. I'm not exactly sure what the path is on XP, but
in Vista you go to:

C:\Users\YourNameHere\AppData\LocalLow\Microsoft\

and then delete the folder "Silverlight".

Make sure to add *.netflix.com to trusted sites as other users have mentioned.

I have had issues with this as well, since starting Netflix early this month. The movies will start, but they stop after a minute or so, with a "media playback error", and the error code 8156 4001. I uninstalled, reinstalled, rstarted, added as trusted
site in IE (even though I use Firefox), tested in both IE and Firefox, disabled the antivirus, tried it in safe mode, everything. My ISP spent a LOT of time looking for any issue on their end, finding nothing. Netflix has basically stated that it isn't their
problem, and that either the ISP is at fault (not!), or that it's the player. How that isn't "their problem" is beyond me, since I can't use any other player! I have very fasy internet, far beyond what netflix requires, more RAM than I need (8GB), and have
checked every setting possible to try and fix this. Cookies are enabled for them, they, and microsoft, are trusted sites (and that was hard, let me tell you!), everything. I tried right-clicking to change the storage, but there isn't an option to do anything
but allow storage or not; nothing to adjust the amount. I am just about ready to cancel the Netflix, if this can't get straightened out. They set up this player, and it isn't working. Every other online video site I have been to (such as HULU) works just
fine. If it matters, using 64-bit Vista Home Premium. Readt to pull out my hair here, and would appreciate any help! Giving up on getting any from Netflix, the ISP has done all they can (nicely), and as yet no word for MS, though I did send a request in,
and have the initial response of "give us more info". A tier 2 Netflix tech basically told me that it isn't their issue, and there isn't anything else they can do.

I have had issues with this as well, since starting Netflix early this month. The movies will start, but they stop after a minute or so, with a "media playback error", and the error code 8156 4001. I uninstalled, reinstalled, rstarted, added as trusted
site in IE (even though I use Firefox), tested in both IE and Firefox, disabled the antivirus, tried it in safe mode, everything. My ISP spent a LOT of time looking for any issue on their end, finding nothing. Netflix has basically stated that it isn't their
problem, and that either the ISP is at fault (not!), or that it's the player. How that isn't "their problem" is beyond me, since I can't use any other player! I have very fasy internet, far beyond what netflix requires, more RAM than I need (8GB), and have
checked every setting possible to try and fix this. Cookies are enabled for them, they, and microsoft, are trusted sites (and that was hard, let me tell you!), everything. I tried right-clicking to change the storage, but there isn't an option to do anything
but allow storage or not; nothing to adjust the amount. I am just about ready to cancel the Netflix, if this can't get straightened out. They set up this player, and it isn't working. Every other online video site I have been to (such as HULU) works just
fine. If it matters, using 64-bit Vista Home Premium. Readt to pull out my hair here, and would appreciate any help! Giving up on getting any from Netflix, the ISP has done all they can (nicely), and as yet no word for MS, though I did send a request in,
and have the initial response of "give us more info". A tier 2 Netflix tech basically told me that it isn't their issue, and there isn't anything else they can do.

Lady Green Eyes,

i have had the same exact issue for about the last month. I have COX high speed with no cable so I know it is not an issue of speed. I am goign to call them today and try again to get some answers or just cancel my subscription. This is absolute crap!!

LadyGreenEyes (or anybody else who may be having problems with choppy playback, etc. on Netflix Instant Watch movies): I experienced a noticeable improvement in playback after I realized that a free tool called SpeedBit Video Accelerator had been running
while I was viewing an Instant Watch film. I initially downloaded it to improve the quality of YouTube videos, which SpeedBit supported, & it did help. At that time it wasn't running during Instant Watch playback, but for the past week it has, so apparently
SpeedBit now supports Netflix Instant Watch, too (even though it's not on their list of supported websites). It made a difference for me, but I have no idea whether it'll work for anybody else. If you want to give it a try, here's a link to the SpeedBit download page: http://www.videoaccelerator.com/.
WW

my problem is different. I have silverlight installed by netflix website doesn't recognize it as installed. I called netflix and they told me that i need to make sure ie is running at a 32 bit or 64 bit encryption. I am using ie7. How do I get it to work?

I have had issues with this as well, since starting Netflix early this month. The movies will start, but they stop after a minute or so, with a "media playback error", and the error code 8156 4001. I uninstalled, reinstalled, rstarted, added as trusted
site in IE (even though I use Firefox), tested in both IE and Firefox, disabled the antivirus, tried it in safe mode, everything. My ISP spent a LOT of time looking for any issue on their end, finding nothing. Netflix has basically stated that it isn't their
problem, and that either the ISP is at fault (not!), or that it's the player. How that isn't "their problem" is beyond me, since I can't use any other player! I have very fasy internet, far beyond what netflix requires, more RAM than I need (8GB), and have
checked every setting possible to try and fix this. Cookies are enabled for them, they, and microsoft, are trusted sites (and that was hard, let me tell you!), everything. I tried right-clicking to change the storage, but there isn't an option to do anything
but allow storage or not; nothing to adjust the amount. I am just about ready to cancel the Netflix, if this can't get straightened out. They set up this player, and it isn't working. Every other online video site I have been to (such as HULU) works just
fine. If it matters, using 64-bit Vista Home Premium. Readt to pull out my hair here, and would appreciate any help! Giving up on getting any from Netflix, the ISP has done all they can (nicely), and as yet no word for MS, though I did send a request in,
and have the initial response of "give us more info". A tier 2 Netflix tech basically told me that it isn't their issue, and there isn't anything else they can do.

Lady Green Eyes,

i have had the same exact issue for about the last month. I have COX high speed with no cable so I know it is not an issue of speed. I am goign to call them today and try again to get some answers or just cancel my subscription. This is absolute crap!!

I am facing the same problem too. I have tested on Firefox, and Safari, and have the same problem. I have TimeWarner Cable and have not faced this problem until I upgraded Silverlight on my Mac a few weeks ago. This totally sucks and spoils the "Watch instantly"
experience. Does anyone know how to fix this problem? I called Netflix and they just told me that it was my network connection. But I monitored my network for a couple of hours and there is no fluctuation or sporadic connection on my ISP. I can play the content
that has been initially buffered. After that, the error 8156 4001 pops up. A refresh buffers some more and so on.

I had the same problems as others here.. and I have watched movies on Netflix months before with no problem.. It may be that Netflix updated their Silverlight plugin recently and it is having problems with the new version. You should not uncheck the 'enable
downloads and component updates to allow DRM playback' in the 'enable playback of protected content' in the silverlight config... that would be bad..

Here are some things that I played with to get it to work..

I am using Netscape.. The netflix player just stopped working after a few seconds (like others). I tried hitting refresh on the web browser, and it still stops immediately after 'loading'..

I right clicked on the player.. if it's locked up just refresh the web page and then try right clicking.. select Silverlight.. click on the last tab (application storage).. find netflix.com storage in the list, click it and select Delete.

I closed the web browser and reopened it, went back to Netflix and tried to watch the same movie but it still locked up...

Now.. what I did to make it work was hit refresh on the web page.. then while it's "Loading... (the red screen)" grab the slider on the player and drag it all the way to the beginning.. you should see the 'starz play' intro or whatever and it should work
fine..

Naturally if the plugin loads and tries to play, it locks up.. so you only have a few seconds of time to grab onto the slider with the mouse.. not difficult but it may take one or two web page Refreshings to do. If the slider is all the way to the left (beginning
of movie), click on the slider or drag the slider into the middle of the movie. Once you've set the position somewhere in the movie, hit refresh and try the same trick of dragging the slider to the beginning while the movie is loading. For whatever reason
it works sometimes but not always. Once the movie is loaded and working I could skip or drag the slider anywhere and it worked fine from that point on.

If I refresh on the browser while playing it will lock up once again and then I have to mess with it to make it work again. It could just be random that it starts working, but I don't think so because simply hitting refresh on the browser (without any other
tricks) never gets it working. Only by playing with the slider, by setting a position, hitting Refresh and dragging it to the beginning of the movie would it start working again.

One reason for this problem might be the way that Netflix is trying to restore the playing position that was previously saved.. (and deleting local storage did not fix it BTW).. for whatever reason dragging the slider to the beginning allowed the movie to
play.

By the way.. whatever Netflix support said about increasing local storage is wrong... Silverlight applications have to request the storage increase programmatically (in code) - which pops up a dialog asking you to accept the new storage size. The Silverlight
configuration dialog doesn't allow you to increase local storage... you can only delete local storage there.

Thanks! For some reason Netflix streaming stopped working for me and I found them less than helpful. I had the same errors that everyone here had,8156-4001. I'm running a quad core with 4gb of RAM. Using Win7x64 and Chrome. I checked every driver and did
everything else blah blah blah. Here is what worked for me. Control panel> System and Security> Administrative tools> System Configuration> Boot> Advanced Options> uncheck Debug, then restart. I hope this is helpful. I'm not very computer literate, so I apologize
if this seems somewhat crude. I have never posted on a message board before, but I was so frustrated with this problem, I felt I should share what worked for me.

In my case, Netflix instant movie viewing stopped and the browser locked with silverlight.configuration.exe requesting additional network storage. I used the following path to delete existing application storage.

YAY! The below worked for me. So quick and simple. Thank you so much! I called Netflix and the representative said, "It must be your computer. Call your manufacturer to see if you need a system update..." I didn't even bother; I knew I'd get nowhere;
besides, I'd been able to watch Netflix online for months before I ran into ERROR 8156 problems. Your https --> http idea (below) is brilliant, PJ!

I then poked around until I found that I needed to have added Netflix to the "trusted sites" tab in "Internet Options" in IE. At first, it didn't work, because it required "https," but when I disabled that, and entered it in without the "s" (since
Netflix doesn't use https protocol), it WORKED. I switched on all of my firewall/virus software, and it still works! WOOHOO! Since I changed it through IE it actually changed it in the system (Control Panel, Internet Options), and as a result, Firefox works
as well.

Have had same problem since all the updates Aoril 12. Wasnt able to watch through media center because of my clock? I live in Arizona -mountain time? fixed that now silverlight? The website links to Microsoft (silverlight is a free issue) I e-mailed them
& response was to uninstall not able to! Used Revo uninstall. Now I cant install again. Called NETFLIX, nice guy but all they can do is help w/ Movies? Why do they use silverlight then? they should have some techie guys- the last line from MS said to contact
Netflix.they did follow up again today but wasnt at home w/ computer

the saga continues. I just watch hulu & xfinity online (free)may have to check out another stream site with really good virus software & firewall!

I uninstalled and went to renstall after reboot. It says I already have silverlight installed. When I went back to prgram remove page there was silverlight staring me in the face. I went to uninstall but got a message the path you have choosen does not
lead to that file. What should I do?

Thanks 1 billion times. This worked. after installing many times, nothing changed. That is because uninstallation was not cleaning the personal data (I guess)

Repeat from zentho:

Delete "Silverlight" folder from

C:\Users\YourNameHere\AppData\LocalLow\Microsoft\

Then try Netflix. Follow the procedure the tab for data storage will open without error. That is it.

Thanks another 1 billion, zentho

If you are unable to access the silverlight configuration tool you can manually delete the unique device id stored by Netflix on your computer, that way when you play it has a chance to generate a new one. I'm not exactly sure what the path is on XP, but
in Vista you go to:

C:\Users\YourNameHere\AppData\LocalLow\Microsoft\

and then delete the folder "Silverlight".

Make sure to add *.netflix.com to trusted sites as other users have mentioned.

I have been uninstalling and reinstalling Silverlight for a couple of months now. I tried a video accelerator and it didn't work for my problem so, after trying several suggestions, I went into my Netflix account and clicked on Manage Video Quality. I changed
my selection from Best to Better and saved it. I closed my browser and restarted it. I went to an Instant Watch that I had problems with and haven't had a problem since. The video quality is just as good as the Best setting. I hope it continues to work. It's
worth a try for those who have tried just about everything as I have.

If anyone is still having an issue I was able to resolve the problem doing as follows:

1. First check if adding "http://*.netflix.com" to the list of trusted sites in "Internet Properties" (accessed through the control panel or Internet Explorer)>Security>Trusted Sites>Sites (Make sure uncheck "Require server verification..." before attempting
to add site url.

2. Refresh or restart internet page

3. If that doesn't work check Silverlight's Configuration settings by lauching the application and selecting the "Application Storage" tab. If the "Enable application storage" is unchecked, check it now. Click "Ok" then refresh/restart browser.

4. If that doesn't work close all browser windows and unistall your current version of Silverlight.

7. Launch your browser and navigate to netflix.com and pick any video to watch. If you still get the 1001 error code follow the directions listed on this site: http://smokeytidbits.blogspot.com/2010/06/definitive-windows-xp-instructions-for.html but
do not install version 3 of the software, instead version 4.0.60531.0 (see step 6). After reading the instructions and before installing Silverlight, close all browsers. After you have edited all of Registry entries, restart your computer. Note: this will
also work for Windows 7 and Vista.

8. After you have followed step 7 open any browser and attempt to watch any Netflix video --hopefully it will work when you do :)

I know most of the info has been mentioned earlier in the thread, but I figure it would be nice having one post with all the info plus any updates in one place.

I have a mac-mini I have used netflix until last week, everytime I try to see movies the screen turns black and crashes. I have installed silverlight put it back in and it still fails. Netflix says its not their problem, what he h--l is going on?

I cannot find the locallow/..... folder. I have XP and looked in My Documents under adminstrator, my name, all users and do not find that folder. I did a search with Windows Explorer (including hidden files). Still did not find it. I did all the above
steps down to trying to delete that folder with no luck in IE8.

I get the message thanks for installing and restart the browser. I have restarted browser. I have totally shut the PC down and rebooted. Still get the thanks for installing message and restart the browser to watch this movie.

Just as a lark, I opened my Firefox and netflix works like a charm.

How crazy is that??? Silverlight is a MS product - why in the world does it work in Firefox and not in IE8!!!

My problem is diffrent than what I see here. I have Windows Vista and just got a Netflix account. Silverlight will not install because it keeps telling me that another program is already being installed. I have searched my whole laptop and there is no other
program being installed. I tried the previous posts link to an older version of Silverlight and it too gives me the same problem/ message. My parents recently got a new computer with Windows 7 and Silverlight downloaded no problem. If I can't get it to download
here, I'm canceling my subscription. Please help, if you can. Thanks.

Greetings, I am recently having trouble with Netflix. I found this site and want to try what peperjon suggested but did not see the original posting thread for all the information of site address to add to trusted sites. Please I would love more detailed
intructions as I am new at this. thank you so much

My problem was with Media Center plugin for Netflix which said I should call Netflix after working fine for years. Netflix said it was a silverlight issue and when I updated to the latest version of silverlight it did not fix it. I ended up talking to
a nice person named Bea and she sent me a shortcut to put the latest Netflix (silverlight) Plugin back into Windows Media Center on Windows 7 This worked for me not sure if it will work for you.

I uninstalled, reinstalled, several times to no avail and just by chance tried my display property settings by right clicking on my home screen and going to properties, settings, advanced, trouble shoot and changed the hardware acceleration to the middle
of the bar and enabled write combining, pressed ok and it started playing instantly. The problem was not silveight, it was my hardware accelerators

After trying all these suggestions and about 10 more, I decided to just try my own fix. I went to my browser icon on my desktop and right-clicked it. I clicked "run as administrator" and it started working right away. I would suggest trying this if nothing
else works.